Darlene Melendez – KYMA KSWT KECY Newshttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com
News and Weather for Yuma, Arizona and El Centro, CaliforniaFri, 23 Mar 2018 21:14:08 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.10Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Weekhttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/opioid-and-heroin-epidemic-awareness-week/
Thu, 22 Sep 2016 06:15:44 +0000http://www.kyma.com/?p=21781YUMA, Ariz. – President Obama wants the nation to remember the victims of opioid overdoses and declared this week ‘Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemics Awareness Week’ to raise awareness about the dangers of those drugs. He says the number of deadly overdoses from those drugs has almost quadrupled in the past 17-years.

The dangers of prescription opioids and heroin are present throughout the country, and can be seen locally as well.

“If a person had an idea of what hell would be like, this would probably be it,” says John Moffett, P.A. at the Yuma Regional Medical Center. Moffett works in the E.R. and sees what he describes as “hell” and its repercussions firsthand every day. “In every way these people are just affected by these poisons—spiritually, morally, physically, and financially. It’s just horrible.”

Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemics Awareness Week brings light to these horrible effects and encourages users to seek the help that they need.

“They just don’t know how to or where to turn to ask for help,” explains Lyle Lippel of Crossroads Mission in Yuma. “They just feel like there’s no reason to go on when society look at them as being second. We’re not second people. We all deserve a second chance.”

Second chances are exactly what Crossroads Mission and other local emergency organizations aim to provide.

“Help people get back on their feet and back into the community is what we’re trying to do here,” stresses Barbara Rochester of Crossroads Mission.

As the number of heroin and opioid abuse cases have drastically risen across the country and Moffett says that he sees these these numbers increase locally as well, and that it’s affecting emergency care.

“If there’s an overwhelming situation with people that are high or ill with illnesses related to their drug use or addiction, then we can’t pay attention to the man having a heart attack or the child with appendicitis,” stresses Moffett.

The effects of these drugs are numerous, and Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemics Awareness Week ultimately aims for people to drop the stigma and seek the help that they need.

“People look at them as ‘throw aways’, you know, that they’re less than, and they’re not,” expresses Lippel.

Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemics Awareness Week is going on now until September 24.

YUMA, Ariz. – A local organization that usually brings smiles to the Yuma community had something to smile about themselves. Saddles of Joy has a therapeutic riding program in Yuma and desperately needed a fence around their property. That’s why the United Yuma County Fire Association took matters into their own hands on Saturday by funding and executing the project.

David Zahn, a Rural/Metro Fire paramedic and a Saddles of Joy volunteer, led the project. “Before it was just the rail fencing and people were just coming and going,”explains Zahn. “The animals, if they got out out, were able to get out and roam so just a little bit of security for them.”

Home Depot assisted with the materials for the project and came together with UYCFA to help the community. “It kind of touches our hearts and Home Depot just wants to come out and help the community just the same way that anyone else would,” shares Home Depot volunteer, Andrew Rivera.

The UYCFA frequently contributes their time to the community. “We want the community to know that we’re not only here to respond to the fire calls,” stresses Capt. Martin Mendez of the Rural/Metro Fire Department. “This is our community and we want to help it out.”

“Diagnosis, treatment, and remission—all here—and this reflects that,” shares cancer survivor Teri Ingram as she motions toward her photograph. She is one of the artists whose work is now on display at the new exhibit. She uses photography to share her journey and inspire hope.

“It was taken in between chemotherapy and radiation,” continues Ingram. “I felt a lot of peace sitting in those chairs.” She hopes that other patients can feel that same peace she felt when they see her photograph.

The newly added art is what patients and their loved ones call a much needed change.

“It’s bright, it’s happy, it’s colorful,” shares Sarah Halligan, a current patient at the Yuma Regional Medical Cancer Center. “The heart with the peace love on it just kind of makes you feel like you’re okay. You’re gonna be okay. People are out there and they care about you and they’re praying for you.”

“Right above every chair was a beautiful peace of art,” explains artist and nurse Charlen Williamson, whose mother is fighting lymphoma. “It just seemed like they had taken the time to make that area special.”

The center had received hundreds or art submissions, and it was the patients, not the hospital, who ultimately decided which pieces would be on display at the exhibit. All of the artists hoped that their art would allow patients a brief, but happy, escape.

“You may look at a cloud and see different things, and I look at a cloud and make up stories in my head,” shares Holly Hendrick, one of the artists. “It just provides the people who might be under stressful situations a mini vaca(tion).”

“My hope is that others feel that when they sit here and look at it,” explains Ingram as she speaks about her photograph. “That the feel they same peace that I felt when I sat there.”

The exhibit is now open to the public, and the Yuma Regional Medical Center invites the community to visit and learn about the art and stories.

]]>Settlement reached in SB 1070 lawsuithttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/settlement-reached-in-sb-1070-lawsuit/
Fri, 16 Sep 2016 05:38:27 +0000http://www.kyma.com/?p=21625YUMA, Ariz. – Civil rights groups agreed Thursday to end their challenge of Arizona’s immigration law, SB 1070. The settlement reached still allows officers to check the immigration status of those suspected of being an undocumented immigrant by asking for identification when stopping the individual for an initial traffic or law-related reason.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office issued the enforcement guidelines, requiring officers to document the reasons for their suspicion that a particular person is in the country illegally. However, had the settlement not been reached, law enforcement officers may have been able to stop anyone they suspect to be an undocumented immigrant—without an initial reason.

“It’s not practical for us just to drive down the street and say, ‘Oh, I think you’re illegal so we’re just gonna pull you over,'” stresses Sgt. Lori Franklin of the Yuma Police Department. “We’re very busy. We have a lot of calls for service that come in and our patrol officers are call to call to call. So it’s not just going to be where we say ‘Okay, you look illegal so we’re going to pull you over for that.’ We’ve got other things to do, so as far as is this going to make a big impact if that were to happen, I don’t think it’d make an impact at all.”

Under the updated guidelines, officers must document the reasons they suspect a particular person is in the country illegally. However, officers would have the discretion not to check people’s immigration status, and local law enforcement will be trained on the updated law.

“Any time all the laws are updated all the officers have to sit down and go through the updates,” shares Sgt. Franklin. “So every time something changes we get retrained on it.”

So, when will someone be required so show proof of identification? The Yuma Police Department says that they identify suspects only when it is necessary.

“If we’re out with somebody who we suspect has broken the law then we’re looking for identification to identify them,” explains Sgt. Franklin. “If they don’t have proper identification then you know, ‘Are you legal or are you not legal?'”

The final terms of the settlement are currently pending court approval.

]]>George Chmiel aims to run across the U.S. in 60 dayshttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/george-chmiel-aims-to-run-across-the-u-s-in-60-days/
Thu, 15 Sep 2016 05:56:31 +0000http://kyma.com/?p=21579YUMA, Ariz. – George Chmiel is going ‘Beast Mode for the Brave’ — a fundraising effort for the Guardian for Heroes Foundation. Chmiel is running 30,000 miles across the U.S. from San Diego to New York City. He started his journey on September 11 and hopes to raise one million dollars for the organization founded by American Sniper Chris Kyle—helping combat veterans navigate physical, mental, and emotional struggles through physical fitness.

“Our guys don’t stop fighting for us, and I’m not going to stop fighting for them,” stresses Chmiel. “I could take one tour to Afghanistan or Iraq and these guys go five, six, eight, or nine times. It’s insane. They’re away from their families and then they come back a different person. They don’t have the treatment they need and so maybe they have trouble connecting with their family again or they can’t find a job. All that stuff leads them to a very dark, depressing place and sometimes they feel like there’s no other way out and they take their own life. That to me is just unacceptable and we’re not doing enough. We need to do more.”

Daniel Metzdorf, a war veteran and a member of Yuma’s very own military community says that Yuma is the perfect place for Yuma to bring this awareness.

“Yuma’s the best place. Yuma is so patriotic,” states Metzdorf. “Yuma loves their military men and woman and they embrace it. They work with them and they’re a part of the community. There is not a better stop along the way than Yuma, Arizona.

Metzdorf has experienced struggle as an active solder and now as a veteran, but he was able to overcome these challenges by focusing on something that both he and Chmiel prioritize—support from the community.

“It took an amazing team of people,” Metzdorf shares about his personal journey. “It took a lot of love. It took a lot of caring people to say, ‘Hey, you don’t have to do this alone. You’re never going to be alone and we’re going to step up and help you reach your goal.'”

“I think it’s civilians and military coming together,” explains Chmiel. “If the run can be a platform for that conversation and to mobilize that effort, then it’s amazing. It’s been one of the most incredible things I’ve been a part of and we’re just getting going.”

You can cheer Chmiel on as he officially runs into Yuma on Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 a.m. at the B1 Elite Fitness gym (1335 S. Pacific Ave. #102).

]]>Come Out and Play Day in Yuma (Preview)http://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/come-out-and-play-day-in-yuma-preview/
Sat, 10 Sep 2016 04:31:12 +0000http://kyma.com/?p=21487YUMA, Ariz. – Saturday is going to be a fun-filled day for children and their families at the 13th annual “Come Out and Play”event. The Boys & Girls Club is partnering with the City of Yuma for their event on Saturday, September 10, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Valley Aquatic Center and Sunrise Optimist Park.

The Boys & Girls Club expects a strong turnout this year. “We are hoping for it to be bigger and better,” says Tania Valdez, Program Director of the Boys & Girls Club. “Last year we served over 900 people and this year we’re trying to get over a thousand.”

The event will be filled not only with water games, splash contests, relay races, prizes, and Yuma’s largest “Slip-n-Slide,” but local resources will be present for families as well.

There’s going to be a bunch of different vendors and organizations giving out information about what they have to offer for Yuma families,” explains Valdez. “So it’s not just the City of Yuma and the Boys & Girls Club.”

The event is also the perfect opportunity for kids and their families to spend quality time together now that school is back in session.

“The event was established to honor and celebrate children by giving them quality time with their families,” shares Valdez. “So they’re able to enjoy the outdoors, parents are able to kind of have some time off, and spend time with their children doing recreational activities.”

“We encourage all families to come,” continues Valdez. “Bring your children. Talk to the neighbors. Get everybody out. Play some games and enjoy the sun. This will actually be the last week that the Aquatic Center is open, so it’s the last chance that everybody will be able to enjoy the pool. ”

The Salvation Army will be serving free hotdogs and soda while supplies last. You do not have to be a member of the Boys & Girls Club to attend the event.

]]>Yuma’s dove hunting season affects local business ownershttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/yumas-dove-hunting-season-affects-local-business-owners/
Fri, 09 Sep 2016 05:37:21 +0000http://kyma.com/?p=21424YUMA, Ariz. – Yuma has reached the halfway point of the dove hunting season already, and local business owners can expect steady traffic. However, some hospitality owners say that they’re seeing a slower season this year due to a gradual decrease of visitors over the years.

“Dove hunting isn’t what it used to be,” says Yvonne Peach, Coronado Motor Hotel owner. She’s experienced years of the dove hunting season in Yuma and saw more hunters stay in her hotel just for opening night this year.

“The guys would come into town maybe for four days straight for years and years,” shares Peach. “A lot of the people have been coming here for years. The past couple of years it’s lighter, and this year it was extremely light.”

Peach also shared that many of the hunters who stayed at her hotel had complaints about this year’s season. “There was a lot of dirt,” she says. “No fields. Quite a few said they went clear to Wellton.”

However, other local business owners say that this year’s dove hunting season has been successful.

“It was a record Thursday opener for us,” says Richard Sprague, owner of Sprague’s Sports. “You have to judge each year differently because it always falls on a different day as the calendar rotates.”

The strength of the season for Sprague’s is reflected in their gun sales. “We’re real busy at the shot gun counter this season as well,” adds Sprague.

This season is proving to affect local businesses in different ways, but the nice conditions for dove hunting can be expected to remain consistent through the end of the season.

“It’s a good year,” explains Dustin Mylius of the Yuma Visitor’s Bureau. “We’ve got exceptional weather here in the first few weeks of September 2016, combined with the fact that there seems to be a lot of dove out there.”

Mylius continues to share a message that the Yuma Visitor’s Bureau has for local and visiting hunters regarding maintaining Yuma’s land. “It’s very valuable because it is farmland and we want to make sure that for safety reasons that the land is very well taken care of.”

The dove hunting season is over on September 15th. The Yuma Visitors Bureau, Sprague’s Sports, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department will host the annual post-dove hunt clean up on Saturday, September 17.

]]>New poll shows that Arizona residents oppose U.S.-Mexico wall and mass immigrationhttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/new-poll-shows-that-arizona-residents-oppose-u-s-mexico-wall-and-mass-immigration/
Thu, 08 Sep 2016 05:23:57 +0000http://kyma.com/?p=21360YUMA, Ariz. – Illegal immigration: It’s an ongoing topic of discussion brought into the spotlight by the upcoming presidential election. A new Arizona Republic poll shows that more than half of Arizona voters do not support the building of the wall between the U.S and Mexico, and even more are strongly opposed to a mass deporting of all undocumented immigrants.

Nearly 55% of poll respondents said the U.S. should not build a wall between Mexico and the U.S. in an effort to secure the border. 68% said that they were not in favor of mass deporting all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and local residents say that their biggest concern is a misallocation of resources.

“I think that expanding the wall might be a waste of resources,” explains Alexander Young, San Luis resident.

“Does that mean more money will be taken out and we’d have to pay higher taxes?” wonders Elizabeth Hendricks, Yuma resident. “I just… I don’t know.”

Local residents have their own ideas of how to better allocate these resources rather than focusing them on building the wall and implementing a mass deportation.

“Empowering the border patrol to do their job,” suggests Young. “A system basically if somebody comes in and they outstay their permission, that there’s something in place to track when they did go back into Mexico.”

And ultimately, residents say it’s disrespectful to potentially deport important members of the community.

“We have a very high minority population here,” explains Burrell. “It’s just disrespectful that we’re so focused on deportation. These are people that are in our community—that are hardworking members of our community.”

]]>Fire damages home near Yumahttp://kyma.dgt.me.php56-4.lan3-1.websitetestlink.com/fire-damages-home-near-yuma/
Tue, 06 Sep 2016 18:25:17 +0000http://kyma.com/?p=21133YUMA, Ariz. – A Yuma family’s home is damaged after a fire broke out Tuesday evening. Rural/Metro firefighters responded to the scene. One resident was home at the time of the fire along with his two dogs. The resident was able to exit the fire safely with one of his dogs and the second dog was later rescued from the fire. All three of them were fine, but the home is not in good condition.

“So standing in front of the house you actually don’t see a lot of damage. So it makes you wonder if there was even a fire there at all. However, since the fire started in the back of the house, the damage is quite extensive,” said Charly McMurdie with Rural/Metro Fire Dept.

McMurdie also stressed the importance of fire safety, especially this coming Labor Day weekend. McMurdie said to maintain your landscaping, make sure your grass is cut if you have grass, make sure your shrubs are trimmed back – if it’s dead pull it up. If you have trash in the backyard pick it up and throw it away.

If you decide to set up your fire pit or grill make sure your grill or fire pit is completely cooled off before you leave it unattended.